All,

TLDR: My core-book-only rogue is locked in, for better or worse, as I will lay it out below; we play tonight. But whats a good direction to go long term? Thanks!

Long Explanation:

An old college friend wants to run a Pathfinder game over Teamspeak using Roll 20 but he doesnt know Pathfinder and so is limiting us to the Core book for this campaign. So he got 4 people to make characters on 20 points for the point buy using Core rules only. This won't change.

We have a dex-based archer-oriented Ranger. We have a Cleric focusing on turning undead. We have a Barbarian who uses a greatsword. And we have me, an Int-based Rogue, who really doesnt want to fight at all, at least not yet. :) That last one is my character.

My friend is running some Pathfinder module thats just a one-time scenario starter adventure (for now) and we are all villagers going on a rite of adulthood celebration picnic kinda thing (thats how my character views it). Her family went to the big city and so she grew up as a well-educated city kid, but her parents returned to the home village so she is a bit of an odd rogue. A bit of an oddity.

I dont mind her having a sub-optimal start, even if it negatively impacts long term play. :) Thats the whole point. But I am wondering, once things get serious, if she doesnt die, WHERE SHOULD SHE GO FROM HERE? :)

Here are her stats and details:

ST 10, DX 16, CN 12, IN 18, WI 7, CH 12. Human. Her +2 went to INtelligence. Her concept is that she picked up all the in-character social and int skills from her class, plus stealth, but otherwise got none of the physical ones. She is impulsive (hence the low Wisdom) but due to it causing problems for her, she picked up (instinctively) IRON WILL and ALERTNESS as her human starting feats. She has 1 rank in each of the following skills: Appraise, Bluff, Craft Alchemy, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Knowledge Local, Linguistics, Perform Flute, Profession Alchemist, Perception, Sense Motive, Stealth, and Use Magic Device. Thats based on 8 skills for rogue, 1 for human, 4 for int. Her Favored class bonus is on HP, and so her starting HP are 10. She uses a Rapier, and Padded Armor (city girl) and Dagger, but never expects to actually fight at this point in her life. That will change. :) Her starting languages are probably common, elvish, draconic, and I can pick 3 more (due to Int and Linguistics).

Anyway, this character is interested in mechanical devices, magic, gadgets, how things work, etc. She is social, but aside from Sense Motive and maybe Diplomacy and Knowledge Local, her desires lie more towards Disable Device, Perception, and Use Magic Device, and knowledge/curiosity generally.

I figure she could aim towards Arcane Trickster. Not because of Sneak Attack at range, but really because she is a jack of all trades and spellcasting was something she wanted to do but her parents didnt pay for. And while we might never play that long, technically she could work towards level 9 spells at level 20. Or she could go all Wizard from here out. Or she could remain some kind of pure rogue who is all about maxing UMD. I love the idea of her being great at UMD, since she views it as a gadget skill. She wants to remain great at disable device and perception and sense motive tho (long story).

Or you know, I'm open to other options. But this is the character as she has to start at this point. Its based on her background as a village infant transplanted to the city, raised as a student/alchemist/merchant-to-be, but she always wished she could cast spells. But she likes devices and gadgets too. But where should she go? How should she grow?

I would appreciate any help! Core feats and equipment etc only! Thanks!

TLDR: My core-book-only rogue is locked in, for better or worse, as I have indicated above; we play tonight. But whats a good direction to go long term? Thanks!

Are there any adventure paths (other than Kingmaker or Rise of the Runelords) where the party stay in the same area , such that they can have a home base and put down some roots in the community? Are there any APs set almost entirely around and in a city or a fort?

Our group wants to try a less travel-oriented campaign.

Thanks!

All,

Are all the APs going to be Mythic from now on? Or will some have mythic elements while others do not? Or will the APs be done in such a way that they have all the mythic and non-mythic approaches in each AP, such that you can opt-in or opt-out as desired?

I ask because I dont want to buy any Mythic APs anytime soon, but I do like Pathfinder APs.

Is a Sea Reaver Barbarian any good?

They have some cool abilities but I always hate giving up Uncanny Dodge.

Is it worth it? Thanks!

Please forgive my questions if they are answered somewhere or if they are obvious to normal people. :) My search-fu is weak, and I am UI / layout - challenged. Oh and all of my questions are about the WizKids minis, because I dont have the free time to paint my own minis.

Can I order bricks of miniatures individually, or do I have to buy a subscription?

What exactly does a subscription entail? I found the splash page about it confusing, but I am easily confused. :)

Is the plan, going forward, to make bricks of painted minis for most of the adventure paths as they come out? Will WizKids ever do figures from older adventure paths?

Are there certain core mini sets that are always going to be kept available?

How do the special sets (such as the undead battles set on the home page currently) fit into the product line? I couldnt figure out where to find other such "non-core, non-adventure path" sets compiled into one place. Do they expire after supplies are sold or will there always be (slow, occasional) future availability?

I see individual figures listed for a higher price. I am assuming that these individual pieces are available until sold, and once they are gone, they are gone? And I assume that therefore some figures I may desire from a set wont be available for individual purchase due to the stock having been sold?

Sorry if these questions are compiled and answered elsewhere. I am none too clever at following product / web page layout, and I browse on a tiny mobile phone. So I do apologize if the answers should be obvious to me.

Thanks for any help, and for your patience. :)

All,

I love the Ranger Class for the most part, but I don't really like the spell-casting or the animal companion in terms of flavor. However, all the various Ranger Archetypes which trade those out for stuff trade them for stuff I hate or don't care for, or which are tedious, and those Archetypes usually change other things I consider critical or essential as well.

I was wondering, if one were to drop Ranger spellcasting and Spell List/Trigger access and Animal Companion access and replace them with a number of Ranger Combat Style Feats or just general feats spread evenly across the Ranger's 20 levels, how many feats do you think would be a fair trade to keep the overall power level of the Ranger where it is?

My instinct is to say 4 feats, but I wanted to hear your opinions.

Thanks!

Guys,

A friend who used to run an evil 3.5 D&D game every other week moved away for a year but recently moved back. But we all play Pathfinder now. So he is starting his game again using Pathfinder but also anything from 3.5.

He runs an over-the-top style evil game and so I need ideas, especially over powered builds if possible (due to the fact that I tend to make pedestrian builds and I wont measure up if I dont do something) just so that I can bring something to the table. I'm not good at evil stuff. :)

So I am wondering if you have any suggestions for builds that would be fun, versatile, wacky, powerful, or whatever, and maybe which feats, prestige classes, etc from 3.5 are juicy and maybe even be a bit over-balanced.

I do prefer spell casters, especially wizards, but I am not sure I am going that route. The other players will be:

Werecat Rogue
Magus
Paladin (Anti-Paladin)
Tiefling Archivist/Binder

Help? Please? Thanks so much for any ideas!

All,

I have a friend who wants to play a ranged character like an archer or a crossbowman. He specifically wants to play a Kitsune. He does not like to deal with any tricky stuff like spellcasting or funky traps or animal companions. He just wants to be some kind of Kitsune archer.

What build do you recommend for this? This will be a kingmaker campaign and he will be joining our currently first level party. We have a cavalier and a barbarian and a wizard and an Oracle.

I was thinking he should go for the pure fighter/bow concept, at least before I knew Kitsune (-2 str) was a requirement. Our game master thinks he should go with a crossbow and the skirmisher Rogue thing for moving sneak attack since the racial penalty to strength will be present. I actually now don't know what to think now. None of us are really hard core gamists in terms of mechanics. So it's just has to kind of be fun for the player and work well enough.

Oh and we have a generous 25 point buy.

Help? Advice?

And again the player is very new to the system and just doesn't like any spellcasting or weird tricky stuff if he can avoid it. Unless it is something that is still simple at high levels but manageable to grow into. He has poor retention in lots of rules so complexity is probably bad.

Thanks for your help!

(The Kingmaker aspect is secondary really; Just listed it for context)

Our group was supposed to make new Kingmaker characters about a month ago but we were delayed. Last night we sat down and finally did it. I didnt finish due to some decisions I cant seem to make.

So I am torn on what school. I considered an Ifrit Diviner for the stupid good initiative roll, but I decided to go human. I was planning to maybe be a Conjurer and take the summoning feats, spell focus feats, spell penetration feats, improved init and maybe toughness. I could then use wizard feats for metamagic and get spell perfection at level 15.

All solid I guess but kinda boring. What I really kinda want to do is take fast learner, improvisation, and improved improvisiation so that I can get (by level 3) +4 to all unRanked skills, and in particular +8 to all int skills. Sort of a knowledge type guy. I would actually pump one or two knowledge skills.

Our group will have me (wizard), a cavalier, a saurial shaman druid, an oracle of flames, and a bow-based ranger. We have a 25 point buy. I was thinking 10 str, 14 dex, 14 con, 18 int, 10 wis, 14 cha.

With this setup I would get 8 skills per level so I would max out K(arcana), linguistics, spellcraft, perception, diplomacy, umd, sense motive, and bluff. Best of all, I would have +4 to all skills, which means I would have +8 to all knowledge and craft skills and appraise without spending points.

But of course the cost is that suddenly I am a rather unfocused Wizard.

Any advice on approach to take? I really like being a knowledge generalist but maybe I dont need the human improv line to do that. I also wonder if I should do Int 19 and Cha 12. I do want to pump a bunch of social skills but +1 may not be worth the hit to Int.

Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks!

All,

Our group is about to make characters tonight for a Kingmaker game. I was thinking about making a Wizard optimized for Initiative, just for fun, and so I am thinking I will be an Ifrit with the +4 init racial swap-out.

However, I had been thinking Conjurer just because some of the other Ifrit swap-outs affect Conjuration and it seems thematic. But then again, with a big campaign about running a kingdom (I think? Not entirely sure whats up with Kingmaker) maybe it would be good always having some high level Divination spells in slots at all times, and I love the Divination option/subschool that lets me roll the prescient d20 a number of times a day and then basically use it for substitution. Plus divination would augment my stupidly high divination score.

Anyway, so, for Kingmaker, do you think a Conjurer or a Diviner would be best?

Thanks!

All,

I know Druids dont have to have a specific god. But I was wondering if it made sense for a Druid to worship Arshea, the Empyreal Lord of liberation, physical beauty and sexuality. The idea would be that the character reveres nature, but happens to revere physical beauty and sexuality most. The Druid would be Neutral Good.

Thanks!

All,

I want to make a caster Druid, but I want him to be a Storm Druid who takes the Storm Domain, and later Air (for Chain Lightning). However, I am not sure what feats to take. Should I focus on control feats and traits? Damage? Which ones?

I have read Treatmonk's old guild, but his caster uses the summon spells, but of course the Storm Druid wont have the summon nature's ally stuff, or a companion. So I am wondering which feats I should take, since his are in part based on other considerations.

The rest of the party will be a Sword & Board Fighter; a Wizard; a Rogue; and a Magus.

Thanks!

All,

In a party that consists of 1) a tanking fighter, 2) a control/conjuration wizard, and 3) a [rogue or ninja, not finalized], what would be a good fourth nature-themed caster support character?

Thematically, I am looking for a nature-based full caster. Something that feels culturally like a lightly- or non- armored woodland wanderer. I am looking for the character to fit a support role.

The ones that seem to fit to me are Druid & Witch, and I am leaning toward Druid. But I thought I might ask about other ideas. Oracle and Cleric seem a bit too ... martial and/or non-woodsy, what with the medium armor and all. But I just thought I would see if anyone has any other suggestion or some way to hit the same feel.

Thanks!

All,

I have been kicking around lots of character ideas lately, and I have this one concept that I am not sure how best to represent.

1) I picture the guy as the main party Tank, though I want a blend of offense and defense, so maybe Tank should be 66% and offense 33%. Tough, but dont ignore him.

2) He uses Weapon and Shield. I prefer the weapon to be something standard like an axe or a sword. I dont envision this guy as *too* amazing to the point of min-maxing with dual shields or weird close weapons. Though I wouldnt mind throwing a feat or two at advanced punching and wrestling, because he should be able to be good in an unarmed fight. Not the best, but he should be decent.

3) I picture his as a second string Face. He should be good in alignment, but self centered. A likeable jerk who means well but has other people facepalming. I *do* want him to have legitimate ability at impressing people sometimes, or fast talking, or maybe saying the right thing or befriending someone or turning up some useful info. Not enough to challenge the soverignty of a full face, but maybe at 33% to 45% "face power" so to speak. :)

4) I picture hin as Full BaB, or close. Spells are too much for this guy. He isnt dumb (int and wis are normal or could be as high as 12) but thematically, not a spellcaster.

5) He shouldnt have a mount really, or not a dedicated one, and I dont really see him with an animal companion. If he had an animal around, I would want to run the joke that he wants it to get lost but the dog sticks around anyway and wont leave. And the guy talks trash about the dog and how the dog sucks, but secretly feeds the dog scraps. But really, I would prefer no dog. I can do the "gripes about animals but secretly is nice and feeds them" with no animal companion.

6) I kinda want to eschew heavy armor, or at the very least he always leaves his helmet off or leaves his face exposed because he wants to have a reputation. Imagine the villain from The Incredibles but as a hero, not a villain, maybe mixed with a little Kurt Russell from Big Trouble in Little China, except this guy isnt incompetent like Jack. He just wants people to see his face and wants people to like him. But at the end of the day he is a good guy.

Now with all this in mind, what would he be? I am not looking for a complex build, just a class or feat or trait or suggestion to build him as I envision. Is he a fighter? A cavalier with no mount? Something else?

Thanks for any help!

Edit: fixed some typos/errors. "It's all in the reflexes."

All,

I have a vision of a character concept but I cant quite figure out how to build it. I am hoping you can help.

I envision these traits:

* Outdoorsy, survivalist, cunning, a tracker and hunter
* Full BAB and can be the party warrior
* Medium or light armor only due to theme/style
* agile and hardy (fort and dex saves good)

Now so far, I would think "Ranger" except I also want:

* no spells, no skirmisher moves
* no animal companion
* does not rage (I dont want to be a Barbarian)

Is there such a way to build this guy?

I might have other vision limits too but none are coming to mind.

Any suggestions?

All,

Not counting the Samsaran end-run on out-of-class spells, which classes in Pathfinder have the ability to Raise Dead?

I know Oracles, Clerics and Witches can. I think there is some way I have seen where certain Paladins can do it by using the right Mercy Feats. But can anybody else do it?

I was originally trying to find a way for a Druid to cast it, but I couldnt think of a way other than being Samsaran. But then I just wondered all the ways it can be done. So its just a matter of me being curious, really.

Thanks!

All,

I want to make an Ifrit Wizard with the Conjuration (Teleportation) school. I know Intelligence isnt pumped by the Ifrit package, but I want the +4 initiative alternate racial trait. I will have a greensting scorpion, reactionary as a trait, improved init at level one, and a 16 dex for a total of +17 initiative at level 1. I want to get my control (conjuration) spells out quickly. I have my feats planned through level 15 but I have 2 open slots.

The feats I plan to have are improved init; skill focus conjuration; greater skill focus; persistent spell; UNDECIDED@7; UNDECIDED@9; dazing spell; spell penetration; greater spell penetration; quicken spell; spell perfection.

Feats and discoveries I am considering for the two UNDECIDED slots are: fast study; cypher script; augment summoning; superior summoning; toughness; craft wand; staff like wand (would require some juggling of the feat order for this one).

I lean towards augment summoning & superior summoning, because after all my wizard specialization extends summon durations, and the ifrit Fire Insight alternate racial trait extends fire-based summons even more. But man, I sure would love cypher script and fast study for cost/flexibility.

Which feats do you recommend for my open 2?

Which conjuration spell would you use Spell Perfection on? I was thinking about that shrapnel one (I forget the name) so that i could drop quickness or dazing on it.

Which other trait do you recommend? I was thinking Magical Lineage.

Edit: 25 point buy, going for 10 str, 16 dex, 14 con, 18 int, 8 wis, 10 cha.

Thanks for any help!

All,

I was playing a bit of Skyrim this weekend. I'd never hired Jenassa, so she was a new experience. She seems to be, in Pathfinder terms, some kind of spell-less Ranger or something. She sneaks around, uses bows, dual wields, prefers to sneak up on things, and looks cool in all black leather armor, following my Khajit around in stealth mode.

So for those of you who play Skyrim, how would you build her in Pathfinder? She seems to favor dual blades, but mixes it up with the bow pretty frequently, and she loves stealth and places to hide outdoors.

Just wondering.

Thanks!

Hey folks!

I am planning a Halfling Wizard loosely modeled in terms of wardrobe/fashion on Bilbo from the recent Hobbit movie. All well-to-do but comfortable. Morally, I wish the character to find mind control, slavery and the like to be abhorent, and perhaps even more personally distasteful than a regrettable death in a self defense situation. I want to extend this distaste to summoned monsters, in that the character would have a hard time stomaching a situation where he summoned enslaved/charmed/helpless meat (summon monster) to get ripped to shreds.

Also, I dont really see the character being an evoker or heavy on damage spells, especially AoE ones, because setting dudes on fire would freak the little guy out. Oh, and yes, I want to be a Wizard (maybe a sorcerer) but not any other class.

So, whats a polite wizard with certain moral limitations to do? What sort of Wizard builds or spells work for such a character? Is such an approach viable?

Thanks!

All,

I am wondering if a group already consisting of a Barbarian, a Wizard and a Cleric would get any value out of having two rogues in the group? Or would one or more of these rogues be dead weight?

Thanks!

All,

I want to make a Dwarven Oracle of Flames who is a Blaster, due to his background being that of being in a Dwarven Battle Squad. His focus is on Fire Magic, with secondary aspects being buffs prior to fights and healing after fights.

What Trait and Feat selection would you consider?

I am really tempted to get the trait that lowers metamagic cost on Fireball by 1, and then get the Feat that extends the dice of Fireball by 5 dice, and work towards Quicken Spell and Spell Perfection and somewhere along the way picking up Dazing Spell.

But I am wondering if you have any other suggestions?

Thanks!

All,

I am curious to know what features a Dwarven city would have, in particular one that is deep underground, is cut off from the surface, subjected to possibly hostile cities like Drow, as well as a cold war (only recently ended) with another Dwarven city.

What kinds of spellcasting types would be important in such a society? Where would food come from? What kind of defenses would you expect to find? What magical defenses and Pathfinder spells would still be in place as remnants of their cold war with another nearby dwarven city?

With aboveground human cities, it is easy enough to assume farmlands and trade and abundant natural resources. It is easier to hand-wave the kinds of things you would find. The instruments of war and siege are more familiar. But in an underground city, I am less certain. I feel more of a need to account for everything required for survival.

And if this is the wrong forum, mods please feel free to move it to the correct one. I considered homebrew but that seemed about custom rules and I just want general advice, within a Pathfinder framework.

Thanks!

All,

I love the style/motif of rogues, and I like their skills/mechanics, but I do not really enjoy the flavor of wielding two weapons. I also dont routinely like the flavor of two-handed weapon builds or bow builds, unless I am having a rare craving.

But mechanically, a rogue using a single one-handed weapon seems weak. And yet that is always how I envision my rogues.

Are there decent builds for this type of rogue? Would a build based on improved feint and vital strike and the improved sneak attacks (1s and 2s treated as 3s) be a good approach for closing a little of the gap?

Thanks!

All,

I am wondering if it makes any kind of sense for a Cleric to use a quarterstaff as a primary weapon? Or if it is self defeating? Or in the middle? Are there any decent builds based on using one

I often unfortunately build characters around how i want them to look. I say unfortunate because usually min maxing or even just common sense build wisdom will show the stuff i want to do to be a bad idea, in terms of mechanics.

I bring this up in case someone raises the question of what i want the character to do. I want the character to use a staff. And be a full cleric. Because it looks cool.

Help and advice apprecated.

Thanks!

All,

I did some searching with google, with the App Store, and on this forum. My search-fu is notoriously weak, but I can't find good info on what apps are out there for Pathfinder or even gaming in general. Specifically *current* info on what is still good.

I have an iPhone 5 and an iPad 2 but I am also interested in android apps. But the iPhone 5 is my main.

What's the state of Pathfinder apps these days? Dice rollers, srd/prd references, spell cards, monster lists, campaign tools, map makers ... you name it. I am interested.

Thanks!

All,

I am curious as to whether a Witch with the Healing Patron and the Healing Hexes can be the primary healer for a group? What if the group also has a Ranger and a Rogue with Use Magic Device? The group size would be 5. Maybe 6?

Edit: can a party survive without the other cleric spells that, say, an adventure path or multifaceted adventure might expect them to have? Esp at higher levels (10+)?

Just curious.

Thanks!

All,

So, I have a dwarf cleric concept and she is a standard Inner Sea type Dwarf. Neutral Good preferably, maybe CG tho I prefer NG alignment. From a concept and mechanics perspective, I like the idea of these domains: liberation, travel, knowledge, protection, healing.

Now, for the first two, I could go with Desna, only I personally cannot stand Desna. For the last three domains, I could go with Pharasma or Nethys. However, I prefer to avoid neutral gods, I dont like dualistic or insane gods anyway, and gods of death who dislike undead are a pet peeve of mine since way back when. Oh and I could go with Andoletta but maybe she is too stern for my tastes.

So, I noticed Sun Wukong, a monkey god who used to be a rock or something. I would probably not follow him because he is CN. But Qi Zhong fits knowledge, healing, protection. Perfect, except he is a Dragon Empires god.

Then I started noticing Hei Feng, Daikitsu, Yamatsumi, and quite a few Vudrani gods as well that have lots of my various favorite domains all in one package, tho several are neutral and dont fit *this* concept. But in terms of having domains and portfolios I like without having personalities I dislike, there are a LOT of Vudrani and Dragon Empires gods I like.

But I dont want to change my cultural concept for ny Dwarf priestess. Would there be any justification for a Dwarf Lass from Magnamar to worship Qi Zhong?

Thanks!

All,

I remember seeing a wizard option when you are from the Mwangi culture that let's you pick up a Druid spell or two without losing caster levels. Can anyone remind me what it is called? I can't find it.

Alternately, what the player wants is to get cure light on his spell list without losing wizard levels and without needing UMD.

Suggestions are welcome, and remembering the Mwangi wizard would rock also.

thanks!

All,

tl;dr ... not sure of which way to go on a Wizard build. Leaning toward a Dazing Ball Lightning build.

I have posted some other build requests recently, for distant/upcoming games. But now I am thinking that in the game I am playing currently, I may retire my Goblin Sorcerer. He rocks actually, but I am getting physically fatigued, and somewhat mentally fatigued, constantly doing the voice. So I am considering making a long term Wizard build to replace him in my CURRENT game.

So ... I am not sure what to shoot for. I kinda want to be a Diviner and have Improved Initiative and the +4 init dinosaur and a high Dex. Honestly, my Goblin Sorcerer (Sage) has a fantastic initiative too, but I kinda want to be egregious with it.

I also want to focus on control. Even though I am a Diviner (or planning on it, for the initiative bonus), I am almost tempted to boost Spell Focus to Conjuration for the stuff like Grease and the other few control spells.

But on the other hand, I really love blasting. But whereas my Goblin was all about blasting (and summons) I think I want to go with blast-control on this guy. Just because I like blasting, but I think if I could get some control out of it, rather than supreme damage, I might like that more.

So, I am leaning towards a Human for the extra feat (which I kinda resent, as I would prefer an Elf but I need the feat to squeeze stuff in) with this build:

Point Buy) 25 points (there are only 3 PCs so we use higher point buy)
Dex) prob 16 (+3 init)
School) Divination (+1 init, will grow every other level, +LVL/2)
Familiar) Compsa..dinosaur thingy (+4 init)
Trait) Reactionary (+2 init)
Trait) Magical Lineage (ball lightning)
HUMAN) Improved Initiative (+4 init)
1st) Combat Casting
3rd) Spell Focus: Evocation
5th) Greater Spell Focus: Evocation
WIZ5) Persistent Spell
7th) Elemental Focus: Lightning
9th) Greater Elemental Focus: Lightning
WIZ10) Dazing Spell
11th) Spell Penetration
13th) Greater Spell Penetration
WIZ15) Quicken Spell
15th) Spell Perfection: Ball Lightning

This would eventually let me cast Dazing Ball Lightning with impunity, with +8 to my DC for the damage and the daze, and folks in metal armor have -4 to the saves also.

Prior to that, I would just be a generalist and throw out all the control and/or buffing I can using my high initiative (which will start at +14 and by level 15 should be +20, not counting magic items that could possibly buff it).

Does this seem like an adequate approach?

In a way, I wish I had room for Craft Wand, and I wish I had room to get all of the above AND craft wand AND be an Elf AND have Breadth of Experience. But hey. :)

Anyway, thoughts on this build? Any different recommendations?

Thanks!

All,

I have a desire to make a ranged rogue. Not really for the sneak attack stuff, but just for style / fun. I just picture an Elf rogue with a shortbow.

Can it be passable as a character?

I was thinking something like this could work (tho we rarely play past lvl 12):

01) point blank shot
Rt) combat trick: improved initiative
03) precise shot
Rt) finesse rogue
05) rapid shot
Rt) ??? ... Maybe weapon focus rogue talent?
07) deadly aim
Rt) ??? ... Snap shot rt, surprise attack rt, other?
09) manyshot
At) advanced talent feat: clustered shots
11) quick draw
At) skill mastery
13) two weapon fighting
At) slippery mind
15) improved precise shot
At) improved evasion
17) combat expertise
At) ???
19) improved feint
At) ???

I would prob take Reactionary as a trait. Not sure what the other trait would be.

Wish I could get combat expertise and improved feint in at 6 and 8 as rogue talents. Oh well. :)

Any suggestions? Is this a viable build? We have a generous 25 point buy, since we have only 3 pcs.

All,

It seems to me that a bonded item is a massive risk. Its cool to have but if taken, the downside is atrocious.

Familiars can get killed, but I think they have no real down sides when they are dead. But if I only have a few Wizard levels on a multiclassed character, wont it be tedious to keep them alive?

Is there a Familiar Pocket spell in Pathfinder? Can I simply not summon a familiar? Is there any legal way to trade out a familiar without having to takea feat or trait hit? And preferably without archetypes?

Thanks.

All,

How do you use CR in a situation where you have a large flexible encounter area? I mean, in fact, I am still sort of confused about how you use CR even in a small/medium area such as a "dungeon" or "temple" too because, having one or two encounters of, say, CR 5 in the temple is different than a temple with 50 rooms and enemies or encounters possibly in each room.

But I am even more confused about how to use CR in a big open area where the party may sneak past and hit only a few encounters, or they may cause an alert and gets tons of response, and there may also be some side things that are more difficult. I want the fights, if they try to get through without setting alarms, to not be total push-overs, but I also want either result to be fun. If an alarm is set and they have to fight their way past or through hordes of baddies, that should be fun. Of course, there should be a chance they fail in the latter situation. Also, they could retreat.

But I guess I am struggling a bit with how to balance, say, a large defended open area underground or in a valley where there are a lot of dynamic things that could happen.

Any tips?

Thanks!

All,

I see that Sacred Summons has a requirement of the Aura class feature. I know Clerics get this. What other classes, which are full casting classes and can cast Summon Monster, get this feature (Aura)?

Are there any feats, prestige classes, archetypes etc that can give you this class feature otherwise?

Thanks!

All,

I have been kicking around lots of different character ideas for a Skull & Shackles game. Forgive me if this is like my 5th post this week asking about character builds. :)

Anyway, I have this concept in my head of a lightly armored archer who is a dwarven lass who has journeyed far and wide and so she knows lots of stuff. I want to take Breadth of Experience for flavor, and I want her to have all knowledge skills as class skills and I want her to be an archer.

So, I was thinking Inquisitor with the Knowledge domain. I was also thinking maybe a bard archer. Ranger would be ideal for feats tho, with maybe a 1 level dip in something to get knowledge skills as class skills. I would also consider a Cleric of both Knowledge and Animal domains if there are any, for an animal companion. I guess i could also go with an Inquisitor with the Animal domain (and boon companion) & take a one level dip to pick up knowledge skills. I could even be an archer bard, but I think I would get killed big time.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

All,

I am trying to find a god or an empyreal lord that is nice. And good-aligned. Maybe even motivated. But not flaky or chaotic. But not too stern. Not a zealot. Think Gandalf the GREY or maybe the nice sister hag/witch from Spirited Away.

I had hoped for Andoletta, since her brief entry in Lords of Purity made me think of my grandmother. But further research shows that her creator wrote her with a mean Catholic nun in mind. Sadly, not the comforting figure I am looking for.

The dwarven marriage goddess seems ok, but i was looking for a god that doesnt feel race-specific.

Anybody like that out there in Golarion?

Thanks!

All,

If you were building a Human Inquisitor, whats a good way to pick up a decent weapon proficiency? Assume that the player cant stand Desna, Cayden, Sarenrae, or Ragathiel, and plans to be Neutral Good.

Will he have to burn a feat? Are there any domains that grant proficiency? Any traits?

Or should he simply sigh, pick up a Heavy Mace (simple weapons) and run with it?

Thanks!

All,

For a future project, I want an archer who is also a full divine caster. I was thinking Samsaran Oracle of Battle for weapon proficiency, extra spells from the class bonus and the racial ability to add gravity bow to my spell list. Or maybe Cleric or Druid.

What approaches (with no level dips) work out?

Thanks

All,

If I wanted to make a Neutral Good or Chaotic Good character who was basically a holy warrior or Paladin equivalent (in terms of role) ... what would be the best approach?

My first thought would be to make an even split in levels for a multi-class Fighter/Oracle (of Battle). However, I was wondering if there were another way?

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

All,

Just as there are feats to bump up the level of animal companion or effective spellcasting level, I was wondering if there are any feats to bump up effective Sneak Attack level?

Thanks!

All,

As a general question, what classes make good options for pirate or ocean campaigns?

As a more specific question, in an ocean/pirate campaign, what other class would compliment a ranger, cleric, wizard and rogue in an ocean/pirate setting?

But really, I'm just wondering about more general thoughts, since I dont know for sure that the 4 I mentioned would actually be used. Thats just a "best guess" on what others in the group might do.

So I am just looking for general opinions too.

Thanks!

All,

I am just wondering if Golarion has any good-aligned gods that grant access to the Water domain? At first glance, I dont see any. I see lots of neutral and evil gods that do. Heck, I would settle for an Empyreal lord, I like them better than most of the good gods.

Maybe there are some non-human good-aligned ones? There are certainly a boat-load (ha) of evil ones. I wish there were an empyreal or lesser goddess of rain, or of the elements. Preferably something other than the neutral, evil, and/or dualistic options.

Thanks!

All,

I hope this is the right forum to ask for campaign advice in the context of the Pathfinder system. We are running a game with 5 players total including GMs. I share GM duties with another player, so there are only 4 PCs active at any given time. The premise is that the PCs are all cursed as unwilling dimension hoppers. It never happens except when a player cant make it or when its time for a different GM to take over (and his character gets ported elsewhere).

I ran the intro adventures until level 2 that were setting independent. My friend ran the PCs up to level 4. He has tons of old Dungeon magazines to pull adventures from, and sets his loosely in the FR. However, now it is my turn to really run for a good stretch and I am a bit unsure what to do.

I kinda want an underground setting for my adventures. The party is level 4 with dwarf barbarian 4; an elf wiz 1 / inquisitor 3; halfling rogue 4 who does the charging sneak attack thing, and an occasional but often absent human ranger 4 (we keep player levels equal).

So, I personally like to run sandbox style games, but my dilemma is that I am more accustomed to Hero and GURPS as a GM in that I am not used to worlds where the power level scales up. I am also not as up on 3.x d&d/PF rules as I need to be, outside my comfort zone of the classes I prefer (Wizard). So while if this were a GURPS game, I could ad hoc / create a world on the fly, come up with stuff that makes sense in power level, know the rules, and create a good sandbox for player-driven stories. But the scale of Pathfinder is making me want to have some kind of setting that lets me still do a sandbox, maybe have some weird lopsided power-relations between societies due to me not being comfortable with power balance, etc, but have it cut off from a total "where do we go now" feel. Also, until I feel a bit better about power creep, crazy feats, etc, I kinda want to run a low magic game. Well, not low magic, but maybe the kind of game where magic is not commonly bought/sold at player convenience. So a self-contained sandbox would let me get used to taking things easy on difficukty unntil I see where issues may come up.

Anyway, so I was hoping for general advice, as well as a little system advice, as well as specific advice on not nibbling too much too soon. Advice on what cities/factions or competing cultures may exist underground, and how PCs may relate, well that would be nice too.

I dont know if this "underdark" would be in Golarion, Greyhawk, FR, or if it would not be referenced. I kinda envision a deep dwarven kingdom as a hub they may find and live in. Or not. What are other underground races that form kingdoms, territories,,etc, both evil, hostile, good, etc? I know the classics such as drow, derro, kou toa, mind flayers, various myconoids, aboleth, morlock types, durergar, etc. I might even ignore all these and make my own. Just looking for suggestions.

I also envision this underground sandbox as being isolated from the surface in the short and medium term. Maybe the surface lands are a desert, or are somewhere really nasty you dont want to go up to, such as the lands of Iuz, or worse. Long distance teleport magic probably wont work either.

I have an initial adventure prepped that ties into my earlier stories. And of course at times my friend will run and so we will be in another universe above ground. But going forward, I was just looking for conversation and advice as pertains to my aforementioned concerns.

Thanks!

P.S. Apologies for mobile device typos :)

All,

I was wondering if it would make sense that a half-elf with this feat might be unaware that he was a half-elf? They have good low light vision, but in real life, a few humans do as well. Otherwise, I just thought it might be fun to play a half-elf who simply didnt know he was anything other than human.

I noticed the plant template in the advanced races guide, but I didnt see any plant races. It made me wonder, are there any plant races in Golarion? Erect and bipedal or otherwise? Preferably suited to be a player race?

Thanks!

All,

Do Brawlers and Unarmed fighters get by on a d3 for base damage? Is that really how they work? Or do they have some way to improve their base damage like monks do with Unarmed Strike? Or do their feats and class levels really let them hang in fights at all level ranges?

I mean, I guess when they use weapons other than unarmed strike, they are fighters using weapons, weapons that can be enchanted and weapons for which they can pick fighter feats. But I would think that when they use unarmed strikes (improved) then they are rocking a d3 that isn't a magic weapon and that doesnt scale up in damage like a monk does?

Thanks!

All,

I want to make a Magus whose main weapon is a Staff, just for flavor. However, I also envision him in Full Plate due to years of playing Elder Scrolls games. So I was wondering, would I be totally gimping myself if I burned two feats (weapon focus quarterstaff at 5th, quarterstaff master at 7th)?

I would probably take weapon focus on a Magus anyway, so it seems "all" I am giving up to meet my concept is taking Quarterstaff Master, waiting until 7th level to be able to actually use the staff (heh) and giving up having a decent weapon in terms of base damage and crit range.

But thats not so much is it? :) I just want to be a staff-using Magus with Full Plate and no Arcane spell failure. Is that so wrong? :)

I really hate that the staff master has to deal with light armor. The AC bonus is fine, but visually there is already a concept for "guy not in plate mail who casts spells and uses a staff". Its called a Wizard. :)

I would have preferred that the Archetype just give Quarterstaff Master and still allow the staff recharge power, at the cost of all other martial weapons, and then call it done. Oh well. :)

Advice? :)

Thanks!